Your browser does not support accepted Web standards. This site has been redesigned to meet Section 508 accessibility standards for persons with disabilities and to meet W3C recommendations for forward compatibility. If you are using an older browser (Netscape or IE 4.x and older), the site layout will not display correctly. However, all pertinent information should still be viewable. To better view this site, please download a browser that complies with Web standards. For upgrade information, visit [www.webstandards.org/upgrades]. Comments or questions? Email [accessibility@osrhe.edu].

Regent Michael C. Turpen

Michael C. Turpen, from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was appointed as an Oklahoma State Regent by Governor Brad Henry in May 2009, serving a nine year term ending in May 2018.

Regent Turpen was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, educated in Tulsa Public Schools, and graduated from the University of Tulsa earning a Bachelor of Science degree in History and a Juris Doctor degree. In 1982 Regent. Turpen was elected Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma. He served as Muskogee County District Attorney from 1977 to 1982. Since 1987, Regent Turpen has been a partner in the law firm of Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

While no longer serving in public office, Regent Turpen remains politically active. He appears weekly on Oklahoma City NBC affiliate KFOR’s award-winning public affairs show, “Flashpoint with Turpen & Humphreys.” He had a long-running monthly column, “Turpen Time,” for the OPEA monthly newspaper and was a featured columnist for Microsoft’s internet magazine, Slate. Regent Turpen is a nationally sought after public speaker, having keynoted conferences of the National Association of Attorneys General, the Fourth Federal Judicial Circuit, and the National Family and Juvenile Judges’ Association.

Regent Turpen has received numerous awards, honors and appointments. In 2010, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. In 2008, he received the Oklahoma Arts Council Governor’s Award for Community Service; Treasurers for Tomorrow Award from the Oklahoma Health Center Foundation; and the Urban Pioneer Award from the Plaza District Association. In 2007, Regent Turpen received the Oklahoma Bar Association’s William Paul Distinguished Service Award; recognition from the Clinton Global Initiative for his work with Burns Hargis for Legal Aid of Oklahoma; the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Oklahoma Chapter; and the John F. Kennedy Award for Community Service, given by the Oklahoma City Knights of Columbus. In 2006, he received the John Kirkpatrick Award from Lyric Theatre for his leadership in chairing their successful $10 million capital campaign. In 2004, the courtroom at the University of Tulsa College of Law was named the Price-Turpen Courtroom to honor Turpen’s service to his alma mater. In 2004, he also received the National Association of Attorneys General Francis X. Bellotti Award for outstanding service to the association. In 2003 Regent Turpen served as Honorary Chairman of the Urban League of Oklahoma City. In 2002, he established the Melvin C. Hall Leadership Scholarship at Langston University. In 2000, he was named Outstanding Alumnus for the University of Tulsa.

He was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the President’s Advisory Council on the Arts at the Kennedy Center in 1992. In 1986, he was the recipient of the National Foundation for the Improvement of Justice Award and was honored by the National Organization for Victim Assistance as one of Ten Outstanding National Leaders in the Field of Victim Rights over the past decade. Regent Turpen was listed in Esquire Magazine’s 1985 Register: Men and Women Under Forty Who are Changing the Nation. In 1980, he was the winner of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Maurice Merrill Golden Quill Award for outstanding contributions to the Oklahoma Bar Journal. In 1979, Regent Turpen was named Outstanding Young Man by the Muskogee Jaycees and Outstanding Young Oklahoman by the Oklahoma Jaycees. In 1975, he was selected by the Oklahoma Bar Association as Oklahoma’s Outstanding Young Lawyer.

Regent Turpen’s interests are many and varied. He is President of the Lyric Theatre Board of Directors, and on the boards of The Oklahoma City Memorial and Museum, Oklahoma State Fair Board, and Allied Arts. He a member of the Oklahoma Academy of State Goals, Rotary Club, Oklahoma Business Roundtable, and The Creativity Project. Regent Turpen has served as President and board member of the CARE Center, OKC. He is the founder of The Young Men’s Poetry Club. Regent Turpen argued before the United States Supreme Court in 1985. He served as President of the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association, Vice President of the National Organization of Victim Assistance (NOVA), and Vice Chairman of Oklahoma’s Crime Commission. Regent Turpen is a member of the American, Oklahoma, Tulsa County and Oklahoma County Bar Associations, as well as being a Founding Fellow of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation, and a faculty member of the National College of District Attorneys.

Regent Turpen and his wife, Susan, live in Oklahoma City and have three children, Sean, Patrick and Sarah. He is a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City where he is currently active as a teacher for the confirmation class and on the WPC Foundation Board of Directors.